Style of this blog:
This blog does not aim to present comprehensive book reviews. The concise statements about books are based on a book log kept over many years and are intended to give a brief glimpse of what the book is about. The entries could be a spring board for users to read the book or to give enough information to introduce the book to other readers. Users can search by Theme Fiction categories, by tags assigned for Year Levels or authors. Alternately, book titles or author names can be entered into the search bar at the top of the page to locate the book reviews that may be of interest. Hyperlinks to known author webpages are also included in the entries.
It is not, however, my intention that this blog be just a list of brief book reviews. It is my plan to intersperse these reviews in between new discoveries that I make about reading and YA Literature, information about writing competitions that can be used to stimulate students to read more widely and more particularly ideas that I have used, read about or seen in action that have successfully promoted students’ interest in both reading and the wonderful world of YA Literature. Along the way, please share with me your ideas.
If reading my book reviews is what interests you most though, just enter the keyword ‘suitable’ into the top of the page search bar to see a complete list of the books reviewed in this blog.
Range of Books:
Books included in this blog are predominatly for Year 7-12 Secondary School students. Many, though not all, of the books are written by Australian authors.
Star Rating:
***** = Excellent
**** = Very Good
*** = Good
** = Just OK
* = Terrible
Theme Fiction
Some years ago in one of the Secondary Libraries I worked in, we affixed Theme Ficiton stickers to the spines of all our fiction collection. This has provided a great visual clue to helping students select books. Most of the Theme Fiction categories are self explanatory. For the few that aren’t, here is an explanation:
Other Places Other Times = Historical Ficiton
Person to Person = Family & Friendships encompassing Adventure
Social Problems = Self Perception (Aneroxia/Obesity), Death, Disability
Survival = Beating the odds
